Objects, Posters & Artworks

While books, pamphlets, photographs, and documents make up the vast majority of the holdings in The Wiener Library, we also hold a small but significant number of other objects, religious items, medals, paper ephemera and so on, which do not easily fall into a set category. Such items offer a valuable and fascinating insight into the day-to-day lives of people living in the Nazi period.

The Milevsko Scroll

The Milevsko Scroll, on display in the Wolfson Reading Room, is one of nearly 1600 Torah Scrolls rescued from destruction during the Holocaust by the Jewish community in Prague.

Games

Games can be useful indicators of a society’s attitudes and beliefs. Antisemitic and Nazi games reflect the normalisation of Nazi policies in German society during the Third Reich, for example, while post-war era games can offer the chance to work through and reflect on recent traumatic experiences.

Juden Raus

A particularly striking example of something as innocuous as a board game revealing darker trends within a society is Juden Raus (English: Jews Out), which has been described as “history’s most infamous board game.”

Political Posters and Cartoons

Currencies

This collection offers a fascinating range of currencies reflecting the economic complexities of the time; as well as emergency currencies, there are also examples of bank notes designed and created specifically for use within ghettos and internment camps.